


Guide To The East

by earthblooded



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Yearning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26670088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthblooded/pseuds/earthblooded
Summary: Callum needs to get to Xadia. He hires Rayla to guide him, but she knows he's hiding something.___AU - the events of TDP do not happen here. Dragons exist but are not 'intelligent' creatures.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 103
Kudos: 199





	1. Chapter 1

The barman indicated through the open window, to a woman stood outside “Rayla is a transporter. She might be willing… charges a hefty fee though.” He laughed to himself and continued to wipe down tankards.

Callum needed to get to Xadia. He didn’t know the way, so he needed someone to take him. Unfortunately, the search for help wasn’t going well so far. Xadia was a dangerous place, very few humans felt comfortable travelling there, and he was yet to find someone who would take him. This trip had to be discreet. His step-father couldn’t know so Callum wasn’t able to employ anyone from the castle either.

Callum thanked the barman for the drink, left a tip and got up to leave.

“Thank _you_ , lad!” The barman called, waving his tip as Callum stepped outside.

It was late Autumn in Katolis. The deciduous trees only clung to a few stray leaves but the forests had plenty of evergreen trees to keep it feeling alive. The stone tavern sat in the centre of a clearing. Callum hadn’t been to that particular tavern before but as he understood it was a haven for travellers so was hopeful in finding someone to guide him to Xadia.

Callum pulled his cloak tighter around himself, in an attempt to ward off the chill of the November air now that he had vacated the warmth of the fireplace in the tavern. A grey mist obscured the sun and he thought he could see shadows as he scanned the trees. He shivered at the thought and scolded himself for giving in to the bedtime stories he heard as a child.

It would be around this time of year that Callum and Ezran usually prepared for their trip to the Banther lodge. King Harrow would be finalising any business that needed completing before they left. Seamstresses would come to ensure that their winter clothes still fit from the year prior; they had had quite a challenge the last few years as Ezran has undergone several growth spurts. Callum would be packing for himself _and_ his step-brother because Ezran spent most of that time stuffing up on jelly tarts while he still could. Callum sighed at the memory.

_Maybe not this year._

Callum had told King Harrow that the Banther Lodge was where he was headed, as a cover, claiming he needed the time alone. King Harrow didn’t make a fuss – Callum was old enough to go on his own now – but he seemed concerned. They had a very formal relationship, so he didn’t tend to pry in Callum’s business.

Pine needles dusted the ground outside the tavern and it was at the far edge of the clearing that the woman the barman had pointed out earlier stood. She was tending to a couple of brown horses attached to a cart. A leather tarpaulin was laid over the cart, although half was uncovered so Callum could see some bags and barrels. Losing interest in the cart, he turned his attention to the woman.

With all her attention on the horses, and her back to him, she hadn’t yet noticed Callum in the clearing. She wore a long emerald green cloak that grazed her ankles and sturdy boots. Her white hair bunched into the hood of her cloak and the curved horns on her head were unmistakable. Moonshadow elf.

Peace had been agreed between the human kingdoms and Xadia. However, they were only a year into the ‘Era of Peace’ and it wasn’t going all that smoothly so far. Many people, humans and magical beings alike, still believed that peace was not possible. Callum, having spent a lot of time in the library, knew a lot about elves, but had never met one.

He approached her carefully, as if approaching a small animal he meant to catch, before realising how ridiculous he looked so he stood up straighter and tried to walk naturally.

“Rayla?” His voice cracked and he cringed.

She didn’t turn around or even flinch, still tending to her horse. “Who’s asking?” He didn’t recognise the accent – a Moonshadow Elf thing he supposed. Up close, he could see that she was an inch or so taller than him.

“It’s-“ _shit, I didn’t think of an alias_. He feigned a cough. “Excuse me. My name is Jofus”

She looked up for the first time and Callum was pinned in place by her startling lavender eyes. She wore skin-tight black trousers and a grey button up shirt with a belt tied around her waist. On her face, were purple markings under her eyes, shaped like claws. Callum recognised these as being typical markings for elves. “Jofus?”

“It’s a real name,” answered Callum defensively. A small smile touched Rayla’s lips and Callum felt his cheeks warm.

“What do you need, _Jofus_?” she inquired. Her ton made it clear that she knew the name was fake but she didn’t seem to care.

“I need you to help me get to Xadia.”

She barked a laugh and looked him up and down “I don’t transport people.”

“Oh, okay? The barman said you might help” Callum reached into his pocket “I have money. I’m happy to pay whatever.”

Her eyebrows rose when she saw the fist-full of coins he held. “What business do you have in Xadia, human?”

He _really_ should have set his story straight before this interaction. He thought back to everything he knew about Xadia, but the only thing that ever interested him was the history before the peace treaty; current events were not his forte. He had lost hope and the truth lay on his tongue when he suddenly remembered about something Ezran had told him about.

“The Dragon Tournament!”

She paused. “You hunt dragons?”

 _Absolutely not_ “Yes.” At the disgusted look on her face, he could tell he was losing her interest. Having already asked a dozen people to take him to Xadia, Callum was desperate. “Uh, I mean. I don’t hunt them myself! I just go and… watch, I guess.”

“So you’re a betting man,” she nodded, although still didn’t look impressed. “That doesn’t surprise me with the amount of money you’re carrying.” Callum winced, he hadn’t realised it was a lot, he had very little experience outside of the castle walls and struggled to know what things were worth. He was wondering if his tip to the barman was much too generous when Rayla pulled him from his thoughts.

“Fine, I’ll take you. But only because I’m going that way anyway… and because you can afford me.” She smiled thinly and turned to rearrange some things in the cart. “You can put your stuff in there. Do _not_ touch my stuff. It’ll be a long week travelling to Xadia so if you test my patience, I won’t hesitate to drop you off at the side of the road. Got it?”

At that moment, she pulled a dagger from a bag and slipped it into a sheath at her belt, painting a clear picture to Callum that she wouldn’t be taking any shit.

“Yep! Totally got it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the journey begins...

They sat in silence for the first hour of their journey, only being broken when the cart lurched over a rock, causing the barrels to topple and roll around. It was the way Rayla liked it, she wasn’t much of a conversationalist.

They travelled down a dirt road, lined either side with spruce trees, the sprigs of which brushed Rayla’s hair every now and then. She didn’t mind the touch as she revelled in the scent which clung to her for days. She liked the gloomy autumnal weather. The roads were all hers as less people were around but it wasn’t so cold that it was uncomfortable.

Her companion, on the other hand, appeared to be struggling. She watched him from the corner of her eyes and could see him hunched over himself shivering. Rayla was about to remark that he probably should have dressed better for the chill, but thought better of it, not wanting to strike up a conversation.

He had other ideas.

“You travel a lot then?” He barely masked the shiver in his voice.

“Mm-hm.”

“You always travel alone?” If only she were alone now.

“Yep.” She replied curtly.

“And do you always talk this much?” She turned to face him fully then and he smiled slyly. Rayla rolled her eyes, but decided to humour him. She would under no circumstances talk about herself, however, so she changed the subject.

“Have you been to Xadia before?”

“No…” He trailed off, as if he were searching for the right words. “I’ve never been outside Katolis.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Xadia is a hell of a first trip out. You know that we’re still not so keen on Human’s despite this ‘Era of Peace’” she quoted the last part in her best imitation of Humans but Jofus didn’t seem amused.

His eyes darkened. “This is important.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be making bets soon enough” She teased.

He looked away from her then and Rayla knew he was hiding something. She usually didn’t care about her clientele. She had dealt with many shifty folks over the years. The less she knew, the better. There was something intriguing about Jofus though and for the first time ever, she wanted to know more.

It fell quiet again then. He had apparently lost interest in speaking with her and pulled a book and graphite from his bag. He flicked to a blank page, too quickly for her to see clearly but it was obviously a sketchbook. Her attention turned back to the road, indulging in the quiet once more.

Rayla ticked off the things she had learned about him in her mind. Not well travelled. Artist. Wealthy, judging from the clothes and the sheer number of coins he carried. Gambler. She looked over to him again. He shifted under her gaze but wouldn’t look her in the eye.

None of this fit together. Why would someone with money never leave home? Artists, even the best ones, weren’t paid well these days; and he’s young, how does he have so much money?

He was certainly a mystery that she wanted to unravel.

* * *

“We’re here.” Rayla announced.

“Oh great… where?”

“An inn to stay at for the night. You didn’t expect me to drive you at night too, did you?” Over his shoulder she could see his sketch. It depicted her horses and cart at the edge of a treeline – there was incredible detail – she was impressed. At the forefront of the picture was her. She looked so foreboding and emotionless. Is that how he saw her?

When he noticed her looking, he quickly snapped the book shut.

“Uh… I guess not.”

Rayla tied her horses to a post while Jofus grabbed his belongings from the cart. Once the horses were secured, she came around next to him, taking out her own belongings.

She led him inside. It was much like any other inn in this region. Wooden tables scattered the main room, a fire was lit as was usually the case this time of year and it was full of people making poor choices.

They approached the bar, where a young barmaid watched them. Her eyes flicked over Rayla and held focus on Jofus – a smile played on her lips as she looked him up and down. Rayla did not have the patience for this.

“We need a room.” She stated bluntly.

The barmaid snapped her attention back to Rayla and nodded. “How many beds?”

“One.” Rayla passed the coins to the barmaid.

Jofus interjected. “Uhh, Rayla? You seem great, but I don’t think-“

“It’s not for both of us, dummy” Rayla scoffed. “I travel a lot, I can’t afford to stay in inns every night!” The barmaid watched them closely as she placed the key on the bar in front of Jofus, giving him a wink. He either didn’t notice, or didn’t care for it.

“Okay? So where will you sleep?”

She raised her bags “I have a tent.” She grabbed the key from the bar and handed it to him. “See you at the crack of dawn.”

“Wait.” He grabbed her wrist. “How about a drink… on me.” Rayla snatched her hand away. He flashed an apologetic look but pleading still lay in his eyes.

“One drink.”

* * *

Rayla gulped down her ale, wanting to get this ‘one drink’ over and done with as soon as possible; she had a tent to put up after all. Her travel companion on the other hand, took modest sips. He was in no rush. 

She wasn’t even sure why she had agreed to the drink in the first place. Sitting in a crowded bar was one of her least favourite things. There were too many people for her to monitor the room affectively, it was too stuffy, and too loud to think clearly. The idea that she may find out more about him after he’d had a drink was too irresistible, she supposed. _Plus he’s difficult to say no to_.

She sighed, taking another gulp of ale and looked across the table to him. _Jofus_. What a ridiculous name.

He was looking around with wonder in his eyes and a smile on his lips as he watched the other patrons singing and spreading merriment; his excitement a consequence of not getting out much. It was… endearing. Rayla shook her head, she was getting distracted.

All sorts of nefarious people came to inns like this one. She needed to be vigilant. Scanning the room, she saw _a lot_ of drunken fools – laughing loudly, spilling ale, harassing the barmaid – at least she had stopped eyeballing her client. Nothing to worry about.

She relaxed, lifting the mug to her lips, but paused when a cold feeling crept over her. They were being watched. Her hand lightly touched the hilt of her dagger, reassuring her it was still there.

Looking over the rim of the mug, she spotted the culprit. A tall, thin man with a grey cloak pulled over his head watched Jofus. His eyes flicked hungrily to the leather pouch left on the table and Rayla rolled her eyes. Just a thief looking for an easy steal.

She kicked Jofus under the table and he let out a yelp.

“What was that for?”

“Put your damned money away,” she hissed “otherwise you might not have it much longer.” Jofus mumbled an apology and stuffed the pouch into his pocket. She saw the thief grumble and turn his attention to a new target.

Rayla sighed and turned back to the now sour-faced man before her, nursing his drink. Curiosity got the better of her. “So… how do you have so much money anyway?”

His eyes glazed over for a moment and his voice became soft, hardly heard over the noise of the inn. “My mother left it for me when she…”

He didn’t need to say any more. “I’m sorry.” Rayla wasn’t good with this sort of thing. She avoided difficult conversations whenever she could.

Thinking back to what people had done when she had lost people, she reached out a hand and placed it over his, in the hopes it was comforting at all. He met her eyes and smiled warmly, indicating that her emotional intelligence wasn’t completely hopeless. “What was she like?”

“I was pretty young when she passed, so I just remember her as being this really warm, comforting person who would always make me feel better. People tell me she was this amazing warrior and was really true to her values, but to me… she was just my mom. I feel bad for my brother, he was just a baby so he can’t remember her the same way I can.”

“Did she…” Rayla considered her words “fall in battle?”

He slipped his hand from under hers and took a long sip of ale. “She was killed by a dragon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely feedback/kudos' for the first chapter. It's encouraging when I'm only just getting back into writing so I really appreciate it
> 
> As said previously I'll try to update every week or so, but life, job, yadda yadda yadda
> 
> I have a TDP tumblr blog if y'all interested - https://www.tumblr.com/blog/earthblooded


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 begins (I'm VERY BAD at summaries)

It was cold the next morning when Callum stepped outside, much colder than it had been the previous day. His breath curled in front of him as he wrapped his cloak tighter around himself. On days like these, he would usually hole up in the castle’s library, drawing in front of the fireplace, stopping intermittently to help Ezran with his studies.

Callum was glad to have his studies behind him; however, being aged 21 now meant that he had to deal with other headaches. Attending meetings in the throne room with his step father, learning about the laws of the kingdom in depth with Opeli, ballroom dancing, to name a few. He would be by Ezran’s side one day, helping him rule, so these were all things he needed to know, apparently.

He sighed, looking out at the misty morning. The sun was just starting to peek over the treeline. His eyes fell to Rayla, already ready to get going – which didn’t surprise Callum in the slightest. He took a moment to watch her while she hadn’t noticed him yet. She was so guarded yesterday. It was interesting to see her like this.

She was leaning back against the cart, her eyes closed – she looked so at ease. Callum grimaced, he felt bad that she seemingly couldn’t relax around him. This was something he was aiming to change. He saw a softening of her the previous night, when he had spoken about his mother.

 _And then you made it awkward by bringing up dragons_ Callum thought bitterly.

The evening had ended abruptly after that. Rayla became closed off again, downed her drink and muttered that she needed to put up her tent. Callum feebly attempted to offer his help, but she was already out the door by the time the words came out.

He always managed to do that somehow – say something to kill a conversation and then people lose interest. Callum sighed again, as he started making his way towards Rayla.

_At least she only has to put up with me for a week._

Suddenly, a man ran over to Rayla. Callum paused, confused as he watched. She sprung upright as she heard him approach but he managed to grab her arms and pull them behind her back.

Callum advanced quickly over to them. “Hey, what are you-“

“Wait right there.” The man shouted. Callum saw a flash of silver as he pulled out a dagger, pointing it at Callum. “Give me the money.”

Rayla turned her head to look at the attacker and rolled her eyes. “You.”

“Oh good! You know this bad man.” Callum stated sarcastically.

“I don’t know him! He was in the inn last night, eyeing up your coins”

“I won’t say this again. Hand it over, or say goodbye to your girlfriend.” The attempting thief interjected, now holding the dagger to Rayla’s throat.

“Ugh I am not with this human. You must be blind as well as dumb.” She scoffed.

Callum frowned at the insult directed at himself “I think you’ll find I’m a catch – I’ve broken quite a few hearts.”

Rayla shrugged. “They were probably just after your money.”

“Enough!” The attacker cried.

“Yeah. I’ve had enough too.” Rayla stomped on his foot. The attacker yelped and let go of her arms – she took this opportunity to elbow him in the stomach. He keeled over, seemingly winded. Rayla suddenly had a dagger in her own hands – retrieving it too quickly for Callum to see where it came from. She whacked him on the head with the butt of the dagger and the attacker crumpled to the ground.

She turned back to Callum, where he stood with his mouth agape. She smiled in amusement, “Come on, we’d better go before he wakes up.”

With his mouth still wide, Callum nodded and followed Rayla up onto the cart, careful to step over the still body. He noticed her sheathing her dagger into her belt and made a mental note to never ever get on her bad side.

Callum thought back to his law lessons with Opeli. “Shouldn’t we tell someone? Knights from a nearby town maybe. They could take him to a prison… he did threaten your life after all.”

“Nope.” Rayla stated. She clucked, prompting the horses to go. “Not interested in meeting with any knights. Before you know it, you’re standing before _royals_ , telling your side of the story.”

* * *

“You’re quieter today” Rayla noted after a couple of hours on the road.

“I’m just tired.” It was true – he _was_ tired. He was thinking too much the previous night about the journey ahead. Plus, the bed was much less comfortable than he was accustomed to, resulting in very little sleep. However, a lack of sleep would not usually stop Callum from talking. He was concerned about saying the wrong thing, or irritating her – he didn’t want her retreating further before he’s even had the chance to get to know her.

Sketching usually helped his anxious mind, but his hands were far too cold that morning. It was windier now than when they had first set out too, which only made Callum’s blue hands bluer. The fingerless gloves he wore did little against the cold it turned out. He rubbed his hands together, in an attempt to get feeling back into them. Rayla must have noticed because she leaned back and grabbed a blanket from the cart.

“Here.” She said, handing it to him. The blanket was a deep red colour and amazingly soft. “I won’t have you catch your death before I can get you to Xadia.”

“Thanks.” Callum smiled, wrapping it around himself. “Hey, and thanks for stopping that thief.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Don’t mention it? You were amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“It was nothing. He was easy to take down. He clearly relied on the dagger too much to do the work for him.”

“Well, regardless. If I were King, I would make you head of the crown guard.” _She’d be better than Soren ever was… before he left a year ago._

Rayla grimaced. “Ugh, do not indulge in pretending to be King in front of me.”

Callum slumped. “You really hate royals, huh?”

“It’s not hate. Just… distrust. They sent armies, spouted hate, and used our own creatures for dark magic and suddenly they want peace? I’m not buying it.”

Callum spoke carefully, not wanting to give away how close to a royal family he really was. “Maybe they were tired of fighting? I can’t speak for any of the kingdoms, but I know in Katolis… the King cast out users of dark magic. I think things can change.”

Rayla seemed to consider this for a moment. “When I first started out” she gestured to her horses and cart “transporting, I was naïve. I didn’t think human hatred was that bad. I thought that, so long as I didn’t pick a fight with anyone, I would be left alone.

“Soon enough, I was being attacked and beaten – just because I was an elf. Most of the people who attacked me were guards or knights for the human kingdoms, although some were just regular people, taking it into their own hands.”

“Rayla…” Callum was trying to think of something comforting to say, but what could he say? These were his own people hurting her, his own family.

“The looks they gave me were the worst thing. I was just some disgusting thing to them. Pure hatred in their eyes. I met with a moon mage when I’d had enough of the discrimination, she helped me to disguise myself as human, for when I came over to this side of the border.”

“I’m sorry. It’s horrible, the way you were treated.”

“It’s not so bad now. Peace is echoing throughout the kingdoms, so it’s not exactly acceptable for anyone to just attack me unprovoked. I still see that hatred in their eyes though. So now I’m just waiting.”

“For what?” Callum asked softly.

“For the royals to change their mind – and then knights can go back to doing what they want to do and I’ll go back to being human Rayla.” She made quotation marks with her fingers for the last two words.

Callum rubbed his neck, feeling guilty all of a sudden. “Uuh, sorry you’re having to take a human to Xadia.”

She laughed. “ _Some_ humans are okay. You are included in that very small number.”

Callum felt more at ease now, revelling in how he’d made her laugh. “How can you be so sure I’m okay? Maybe this whole thing is a conspiracy to trap you!” He joked.

Rayla’s face melted from a smile to a more thoughtful look. “While I _do_ know you’re hiding something from me, _Jofus_ , I don’t see hatred in you. You’re different.”

She watched him curiously and Callum couldn’t help but stare back.

_Were her eyes always so…_

A sudden gust of wind blew her silver hair across her face and Callum lost his train of thought. Rayla shivered, letting go of the reins for a moment to rub her arms.

Callum frowned. “You’re cold too.”

“I’m fine.” She picked up the reins again.

“How will I get to Xadia if you catch _your_ death!” Callum echoed her earlier sentiment and Rayla laughed again. He felt a thrill go through him at hearing her laugh again. Sliding closer to her, he threw one end of the blanket around her shoulders while keeping the other end firmly in place around himself.

“Is this okay?” He asked quietly.

“Yes.” She breathed.

Their arms bumped against each other as they continued their way down the rocky road. Callum kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, not daring to look her way. He was wracking his brain for something to say but he was getting lost in her scent of pine every time the breeze stirred her hair. Thankfully, she spoke first, also keeping her eyes firmly ahead.

“We’ll stop soon, to give the horses a break. Then we’ll move on until we get to the next inn.” Callum bit his lip. She was probably changing her whole route to account for him. He turned to her.

“We don’t have to go to an inn just for me… I can sleep in the tent too.”

“I’ve only got one tent, and it won’t fit us both in unless we slept really, really close.” She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes with a smirk.

“Okay. To the inn it is then!”

Callum was finally starting to feel warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a promotion at work this week, so that along with my part-time online studies starting this week means my life is getting a whole lot busier - fingers crossed I'll keep to my weekly updates!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some background on a few things as it switches back to Rayla's POV

The horses crunched on the carrots Rayla fed them as she stroked their noses soothingly. It was around midday; the sun was breaking through some gaps in the trees although it provided little warmth. She wasn’t intending on stopping for long, but the horses seemed glad for a break and Jofus was sat at the base of a tree, so she decided she wouldn’t hurry them along too soon.

Rayla bit her lip as she watched him, he still had the blanket wrapped around him as he sketched. She had other blankets; several blankets even – the winter in a tent was cold, after all – but she still opted to share one, for reasons unknown to her. Her cheeks heated at the thought, at how her skin prickled when it periodically touched his during the bumpy ride.

It was the unfamiliarity of being around someone for this long that was causing these reactions. That’s what she told herself, anyway.

Satisfied that the horses had had plenty to eat, she took a deep breath and went to join him.

“What are you drawing?” She asked, standing over him.

He blushed, scratching the back of his head as he avoided eye contact with her.

“Uuh, you…”

Her eyebrows rose in questioning, fearing that this could be the same drawing from the previous day, emotionless and daunting. His first impression. Cutting through her worry, he spoke again with a rushed tone.

“I’m sorry if that’s weird. I just draw anyone who’s important to me.”

“So now I’m important to you?” She teased, enjoying the panic in his eyes.

“That’s not what I meant! I just mean because you’re taking me to Xadia and we’re spending a lot of time together and...”

She laughed and he seemed to relax as she sat down next to him, careful to leave space between them. “Can I see?” She held her breath, as she anticipated seeing her own cold stare looking back at her when he angled the book towards her. What she was met with instead was a new sketch and she heard her sigh of relief before she had a chance to stop it.

The Rayla in the drawing held the reigns loosely in her hands, her posture relaxed, her eyes closed, which in itself was unheard of for her, having been taught to remain straight-backed and always on the defensive. The most bewildering thing was that she was laughing in the picture – a wide smile, wrinkles at the corners of her eyes – she was truly happy and carefree.

Rayla touched the picture lightly with a bittersweet smile as she realised that this was a side of her she hadn’t recognised in herself in a long time.

Turning back to face him, she caught him watching her with a soft look. The past few days, he had looked away when she found him staring but this time he didn’t. They gazed at each other for a moment before she found her voice.

“This is what you see?”

“When you’re less guarded, yeah.” He licked his lips. “It’s nice seeing you like this.”

Rayla was the one to break the eye contact, as she absentmindedly picked at fallen leaves on the ground. It was only just now occurring to her how comfortable she had gotten around him. It was unnerving. She had known him for a day and yet she was letting her guard down. He was easy to be around; she could even picture them being friends, if they had any reason to be after all of this.

_He’s just friendly. It doesn’t mean he wants to be friends with you. He needs you for transportation and that’s it_. The rational part of her brain quelled any hopes she had.

Hopes! Why did she even _want_ to be friends with him? He was going to the Dragon Tournament after all. Even if he wasn’t hunting them himself, he was supporting something that disgusted Rayla.

Dragons were pests, at best. They stole livestock, set towns on fire when they were antagonised and were very territorial. In Xadia, Elves dealt with dragons by just leaving them the hell alone. Stolen livestock? Build better defences for them. One flies near a town? Leave it alone, it will go away eventually. Stumble across one in the wild? Walk away.

Humans, on the other hand, had a more direct approach. Catch them and kill them, to put it simply. Dark mages used their body parts for magic, Kings hung their heads as decoration in their castles – trinkets for their achievements, even if it was the knights doing all the work.

An annual Dragon Tournament was established not long ago. Apparently, dragon hunting was so fun that the humans turned it into a game. They would locate a cave or a den where they knew a dragon was living and participants would compete for the glory of capturing and killing it.

Although the use of dark magic was now illegal, the Dragon Tournament was still going ahead, as it was an opportunity to deal with ‘the dragon problem,’ as humans put it. This year, as a gesture of the peace treaty, it was being held in Xadia. Years of avoiding confrontation with the dragons meant there were a fair few more in Xadia than in the Pentarchy.

Elves were split on the decision to bring the Dragon Tournament to Xadia. Some apposed it, due to its cruelty – Rayla lived in this category. Others, the Head Elves included, thought it was about time something proactive was done to bring the number of dragons down to something more manageable.

So here they were, the Dragon Tournament was going ahead in Xadia for the first time, and now Rayla was taking a human there as a result. A job’s a job. If Rayla let her political opinion get in the way of her services, she wouldn’t have an income.

She thought back to the conversation they’d had the previous night in the inn. It had shed some light on him and his motivations. She could now, in theory, understand his disdain for dragons, his support for a merciless tournament, if a dragon had led to the death of his mother. Did it justify the killing of other dragons though?

Glancing back over to him now, she remembered another detail from that night. She hadn’t seen the hatred or anger she was expecting to see in his eyes as he spoke. The one that she saw when other dragon-haters spoke of them; the grimace that some humans still gave her. What she saw in his eyes was a profound sadness; the same look she saw reflected in a mirror when she thought of her own parents.

Rayla sniffed as she got up. “Come one, we’d better get a move on.”

* * *

She hated this stretch of the road. Every time she made this journey, she would vow to never take it again. She was yet to find an alternative route, however, so this road from hell would have to do. It was poorly managed. Broken fragments and large rocks would fall from the cliff that met the road on the right, so it was littered with debris of varying sizes. It was not pleasant to ride over.

Rayla gritted her teeth as the cart swayed and bumped along the uneven path. Barrels toppled and boxes bounced. She swore under her breath, looking over her shoulder to make sure nothing had fallen out.

“What’s in these anyway?” Jofus asked, prodding at one of the barrels.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t ask?”

“They don’t always volunteer the information… or they lie. Either way, it’s better I don’t know. I won’t feel like such a failure in life.”

“What do you mean?” She assessed him for a moment; trying to decide whether she was ready to divulge more about herself. He was wrapped in the blanket, on his own this time, and watched her expectantly.

“I used to always know what I was transporting. I was one of the few people who knew how to get across the border, before this peace thing, so it was never the most… legal stuff. Weapons, drugs, sometimes I was hired to just get information on what the human kingdoms were planning.”

“I hope you’ve never been hired to transport people.” He wore a grim look on his face. Human and elf trafficking was a well-known problem across the kingdoms – and that along with working for dark mages was where Rayla drew the line.

“Don’t worry, you’re my first,” she winked. “After a while I couldn’t handle knowing. I stopped asking and just pretended it was good stuff - stuff to help people - like food or medicine. In here” she stated, patting the same barrel he had “I like to imagine is full of grain for a poor town in Xadia.” Pausing, she looked away sadly. “I know I’m just being hopeful though.”

“Have you ever considered doing something else?”

“This is all I’ve ever known. I travelled a lot after…” She trailed off, deciding he didn’t need to know _that_ much about her. “Um, and then soon enough people were asking me to retrieve things for them while I was on the human side, and now it’s a business… I guess.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Since I was 14, so 7 years.”

The cart rattled noisily, but Jofus paid no attention to it.

“Huh, that’s-“

A loud snap startled the horses and one reared up in panic. Rayla tried to calm them, haphazardly balancing on her feet as the cart shook. Jofus stood to help but at that moment, the cart lurched and fell beneath him. He fell to the ground, hitting his head against a rock. Rayla gasped, hopping off her side and running around to where he lay crumpled on the ground.

She vaguely noticed one wheel of the cart rolling down the road, but she could retrieve that later. Holding his hand in hers, she tried to coax him awake.  
“Jofus? Jofus stay with me okay?” Blood trailed down his face from a cut at his hairline, where it had hit the rock.

He groaned and turned his head towards her voice. “Who’s Jofus… I’m Cal…” He slumped, his head resting against her knee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you all so so much for your feedback, be it through comments or kudos. 
> 
> The update was a couple days later than usual as I got waylaid by writing another Rayllum fic lol. We're entering another lockdown at the end of the week so I may well have some extra time coming to me soon!
> 
> My TDP tumblr is earthblooded, so if you ever want to chat or squee about TDP or Rayllum, my chat is always open


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Callum's great fall.

A dull pain consumed Callum’s senses when he woke up. Frowning, he tried to remember where he was and what he was doing, pushing through the pain to focus on anything else. He heard the crackle of a fire and opened his eyes blearily to see the elf pacing. Rayla. She hadn’t noticed him yet, her eyebrows knitted, chewing on her thumb. The fire cast a warm glow over her and Callum was struck, not for the first time, by her beauty.

It was dark, much darker than he was anticipating. The last thing he remembered was talking with Rayla about her life – transfixed with learning more about her. That must have been early afternoon and now it was dark? What was going on?

He raised a shaky hand up to his temple, and felt the hot, raw wound at the edge of his hairline, hissing at the contact. _Oh, this is why I’m in pain_.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” He looked up to see Rayla crouching down next to him. Her posture was much more relaxed than a moment earlier and her expression was soft. “Here, eat this.”

“What is it?” Callum asked, taking what looked to be a wood chipping from her.  
“Willow bark. It’ll help the pain” She glanced at his temple and without warning, tenderly caressed his head, as though inspecting the wound. He leaned into the touch, finding that it was comforting, as he chewed on the willow bark.

Apparently satisfied, she leaned back on her heels, regarding him openly.

“What happened?” He asked.

“Cart broke.” She gestured to it, and Callum saw it leaning against a tree, the wheel of which lay on the floor next to it. “You hit your head pretty bad, but I fixed you up.”

He touched the wound again, gentler this time and could feel that she had sewn stitches into it. His heart thrummed, grateful for what she had done, but also embarrassed at the idea of her caring for him in his vulnerable state. He pushed those feelings aside, wanting to keep the mood light.

“Will I live, doctor?” He joked dramatically, clutching at her hand. She bristled at the touch and Callum worried that he had taken it too far, but after a beat, she gave him a slow smile.

“Calm down. You’ll be fine. Just keep it clean.” She squeezed his hand briefly before letting it go, stepping away from him to sit by the fire. His cheeks flamed, but the chill of the night was setting into his bones so he scooted closer to the fire too.

“So what’s the plan now, what with the cart being…”

“I can fix it in the morning. It shouldn’t take long, I just need better light. I could have done it sooner, but I got caught up in tending to you when you fell.” A strange look passed over her face then; one that Callum hadn’t seen on her yet. Fear.

“Were you worried about me?” A small part of him hoped she was, hoped for any indication that she cared for him. He watched her closely.

She cleared her throat and paused briefly before meeting his eyes squarely with a sly smile on her face. “Well yeah of course. You’re the most generous paying client I’ve ever had. I can’t miss out on that tip.”

Callum laughed, despite the sinking feeling he felt low in his stomach. He should have known that even now, he would only be client to her, a means to an end. Still, it hurt to have it confirmed. His mouth apparently wasn’t listening to his brain, as his answer came out in a seductive tone. “Don’t worry, it will be a _very_ generous tip.” He winced as soon as it came out. Had flirting become some sort of weird defence mechanism with her?

She hummed distractedly, seemingly unphased by his response and her eyes flicked to his lips for a second. Callum looked away from her, now conscious that something was on his face. When, from the corner of his eye, he saw her turn to tend to the fire, he discretely rubbed at his mouth.

Still poking at the embers, Rayla spoke again. “We’re too far away from the next inn, the rest of today’s journey should have gotten us there, so we’ll both have to camp out tonight.” She gestured to the tent, already set up behind her, set far back into the treeline of the clearing. It was a tall but narrow, blue in colour on either side, and purple around the entryway.

His face flushed. “Uhh, okay. I thought you said the tent was-“

“Yes, I know, a cozy fit for both of us. You’ll stay in the tent, I’ll sleep out here.”

“Rayla, no. You’ll freeze.”

“I’ll have blankets and the fire.” She stated, patting the red blanket by her side.

“I’ve slept all afternoon!” He exclaimed, gesturing to his head. “You need the sleep.”

“It’s exactly because of your injury that you should be in the tent. I won’t argue any more with you.” Leaning back against a log, she threw the blanket over herself, putting an end to the conversation.

He remained tight lipped as he stood, walking over to the tent and sticking his head through the flap. A pillow and a blanket had already been laid out for him, and another two blankets were folded neatly at the far end.

 _How many blankets does she have?_ Callum thought, the memory of their thighs pressed warmly together as they shared one on the journey entered his mind. He smirked, deciding that he preferred to share than have his own. _Better for keeping warm_ he told himself.

Climbing into the tent, he noted that Rayla was right, there would be little room left with both of them in there. His bag and sketchbook were already in there, laid out at the foot of the blanket. Feeling that appreciation for her again, he was desperate to make it up to her somehow… apart from money.

Crouching frog-legged, he peered out of the tent to look at her. She sat languidly by the fire, her back to him, blanket over her legs, head facing the sky as she ran her fingers through her hair. Callum smiled softly, taking a mental image for him to sketch later.

“Good night.” He called out.

“Sweet dreams.” She replied with a tranquil cadence.

Right at that moment, he heard the patters of rain drops hit the material of the tent. They were few and far between to begin with, sizzling in the fire, ricocheting off tree trunks but only a few moments passed before it came in a downpour. Rayla was soaked in seconds. Her body became rigid and she held herself against the cold rain.

“Please, come inside.” He called. She said nothing, did nothing- stubborn in her position. “At least until the rain has stopped.” Callum bargained and he sighed in relief to see her change of heart as she ran towards him.

Once she was in reach, he pulled her in, tumbling backwards. She yelped as she fell onto him. Pulling back, she inspected him and once the initial shock passed she broke out in laughter. _Gods_ , Callum couldn’t get enough of that sound.

A smile split on his face as he regarded her. Her hair and horns were dripping, her clothing clung to her and she was starting to shiver, but she didn’t seem to mind as she continued to snicker.

“Here.” Callum laughed, pulling a blanket around her shoulders. She thanked him between breaths. Strands of hair fell into her face as she leaned forward to wrap it tighter. Without thinking, Callum reached out, tucking the strands behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. She nestled into the touch, her eyes meeting his. A breath caught in his throat as his heart beat faster still, and he leaned towards her, carried forward by the lure in her eyes and the temptation of her lips.

After a tick, his eyes widened as his mind caught up to his actions, and he shuffled backwards to the other side of the tent. Rayla blinked, her cheeks colouring as she avoided his gaze.

_What the hell was that?_

An awkward silence passed over them for, what felt to Callum, like minutes, before Rayla yawned, giving him the segue he needed to change the subject.

“Rayla, you need to sleep.”

“Maybe.”

“I promise I won’t come any closer than this.” They sat a foot apart, far enough to avoid touching, but still close enough that they would be able to feel the body heat of the other. What choice did they have though? The rain still hammered, with no indication of letting up.

She nodded, giving him a teasing smile. “You better not.”

* * *

They lay on their backs next to each other, listening to the patter of the rain. Callum gave her the pillow, insisted upon it. He was achingly aware of their proximity, but tried, in vain, to push those thoughts away as he closed his eyes.

He heard her shuffle around.

“Hey.” Came her small voice, cutting through the sound of the rain.

He hummed questioningly, and kept his eyes closed. It felt weirdly intimate, talking to each other in this way, so close in privacy.

“You said something… before you passed out.”

“Oh?”

“Something about your name being Cal…”

His eyes snapped open. _Shit_. There wasn’t much he could do to talk his way out of this. Delirium? A joke? The truth? No. He didn’t need to tell the whole truth.

He hesitated, going through the option in his head once more before turning to face her. “My real name is Callum.” He spoke cautiously, worried about her reaction. However, she didn’t even bat an eyelid, instead an amused smile graced her lips.

“Jofus is… definitely the most interesting fake name I’ve heard.”

“You’re not mad that I lied to you?

“Most people give me fake names so it doesn’t really bother me. Whatever reasons people have for wanting to keep it secret is their business, but a name is just a name so no, I’m not mad.” She rolled over, her back now to him. “Thank you for telling me, even if you were forced into it.”

He let out a sigh as he rolled over too, his back facing hers. His eyes drifted closed to the sound of rainfall and her heavy breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeew. This chapter would not let me write it for days, but the writers' block broke yesterday luckily. 
> 
> Aaaaaaaas always, thank you all so much for the lovely feedback, I will try and make an effort to reply to some of the comments one of these days.
> 
> Next update will be... no idea when. It's a surprise, even for me
> 
> I'm over at tumblr if anyone ever wants to chat : earthblooded


	6. Chapter 6

Rayla woke up with a start, feeling a hand grip her waist. The knife at her belt stayed strapped to her most nights, and she was happy that it was still there now. Gripping it in her hand, she looked over her shoulder only to see the human snoozing soundly behind her.

She breathed out in relief, sheathing the knife back into her belt.

_So much for the promise to stay a foot apart_ she thought, although made no attempt to remove his hand from her. It felt… nice and she only deserved to indulge in ‘nice’ for a few minutes before getting up, didn’t she? His hand was warm on her and she sighed as she relaxed into the touch.

Then again, she shouldn’t be encouraging this type of behaviour. The mild flirting, soft touches, lingering looks. Even though it meant nothing in a practical sense – just a bit of fun to keep the journey interesting, it wasn’t wise to continue along this path. Still, this gesture from him was likely just an automatic reflex he made in his sleep. Maybe he had someone at home he shared a bed with.

_I’ve broken quite a few hearts_.

That’s what he had said when Rayla was held at knife point by the thief. Jealousy surged through her as her minds-eye saw him with others – laughing with them, drawing them. She shook her head and sat up, gently lifting his hand off her.

Crawling out into the cool morning air, she sighed as it brushed away the insecurities of her addled mind. She needed to be careful – she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of adding another broken heart to his list. 

It was still dark out as she weaved among the trees and bushes, picking berries and popping them in her mouth as she went. Birds were beginning to wake and chirp as she circled back towards the campsite, holding a cloth-full of berries for their breakfast.

She got to work on fixing the cart and before long, the sun started to rise, and stretching tree shadows reached for her. Scuffling of the tent came from behind her, but she didn’t turn to greet him, continuing instead to focus on the cart, clenching her teeth.

“Morning” he groaned, audibly yawning.

“Morning” Rayla replied.

“You want help with that?” He walked over and leaned down next to her.

She flinched as his arm brushed against hers. “N- no, it’s fine. I’m almost done.” She wasn’t lying – the wheel was fixed back onto the cart, she only needed to fasten it to ensure it wouldn’t fall off again. “I picked some berries” she said, gesturing to a pile of them lying on the cotton cloth on a log. “You should eat before we get going.”

He shrugged, walking over to the food.

“How’s your head?” She asked, when he was far enough away that she could breathe again.

“Pretty good – only stings a little. How did you sleep?” He asked, with a mouthful of berries.

Amazingly. Best sleep she had ever had. She had forgotten what a great comfort it was to have someone next to her in her vulnerable sleeping state – even if he was just as vulnerable. She couldn’t reveal this though, shouldn’t make her comfort known to him. “Fine” was all she said.

If he answered, she didn’t hear him – her mind lost in the memory of his hand on her waist. Her eyes fluttered closed, imagining his whole body flush against her, breath on her neck, legs tangled with hers. She was broken from the indulgence of her fantasy when she felt something hit the back of her head.

“Hey! Are you listening?”

She whirled around, looking at him for the first time since he woke up. His hair was dishevelled, his clothing creased and crooked. His head _did_ look less sore – much to her relief. A smile broke on his face and her heartbeat quickened. She rubbed the back of her hair, and picked a berry off of the ground, which he had presumably thrown at her.

“What?” 

“I asked if you wanted any of these.” He said, indicating to the berries in his palm.

“Thanks, but I already ate.” She stood up, righting the cart and started to load the cargo. “We should go, there’s a lot of ground to make up for after yesterday."

* * *

They reached a town in the mid-morning – the one they should have stayed at the previous night. Nothing notable or worth stopping for there; just houses lining cobbled streets, vendors sold their goods and children bounded around the fountain at the centre of the town.

They passed through quickly, it being too soon in the day for a comfort break. Rayla was surprised, as they came out of the town back into the dense forest, to find a group of knights. They were cautiously looking amongst the trees, each holding a spear, a few gripped theirs tightly.

She kept her head down, not caring to see the distaste in the eyes of the knights. Callum, too, appeared to be shrinking within himself.

“Halt!” A knight blocked their path and Rayla quickly tugged the reigns. He dressed like many of the other knights of Katolis – silver armour edged with gold; some wore helmets, other didn’t. This particular knight did, and his spear was much more elaborate – with smaller spikes either side of the protruding spike – as opposed to the simple one-spiked spears the others held. If Rayla had to guess, she would say that this knight was the highest ranked one of the bunch.

His eyes slid lazily over Callum, who visibly cringed, before they landed on Rayla, or more specifically, her horns. He pursed his lips before speaking again. “Dismount and step away from the cart.”

“Why?” Rayla challenged.

“We need to search your vehicle. I won’t ask again.”

They complied, as the main knight beckoned two others over to search. Rayla and Callum stood far back from them, away from any of the knights. Rayla wouldn’t let them get close – she didn’t trust them not to keep to their promise of peace. She watched with narrowed eyes as they pulled back the cover of the cart, giving it a once-over and settling it back again. They hadn’t looked in any of the bags, barrels or boxes. _What are they looking for?_

A creeping feeling ran down Rayla’s spine then and she knew she was being watched. Not wanting to alert the observer, she scanned the trees either side of the road, trying to do so casually.

Rayla heard the whine before she saw the scaly tail slither among the trees, in her peripheral. She gasped and spun, to find a dragon behind them, limping into the cover of overgrowth. He was likely a juvenile, measuring not much taller than herself. Glancing around anxiously, she noted that the knights hadn’t been alerted to the presence yet. Callum, however, had just noted her attention and turned.

“Wh-“ Rayla clamped a hand over Callum’s mouth, trying to prevent him from uttering another sound, but it was too late. The dragon perked up and turned towards them. She could see a nasty wound on his thigh as he reared up, growling at them. He was a deep dark green colour – camouflaged well in the evergreen forest. 

“Stay behind me” she hissed, stepping between the dragon and Callum.

He touched her shoulder “Rayla…”

“The dragon will leave if we just give him the space to, we mustn’t antagonise him.” She bowed her head before it, submissively and from the corner of her eye, she saw Callum do the same. She breathed unevenly, anxious that the guards would notice the dragon before it had a chance to escape.

The dragon calmed, stepping back and steeling himself to take flight, but he wailed in pain – the wound must have been preventing him. It was too late, Rayla realised with a sunken heart, as she heard a knight yell and, in a flash, a weighted net covered the dragon.

It howled and struggled against the net as the knights surrounded him, pointing their spears towards him.

Rayla watched in horror as one of the guards raised his spear in preparation to kill the dragon.

Suddenly Callum was in front of them, shielding the dragon. “Wait!” he shouted. “Please, he hasn’t done anything.”

Rayla blinked, but ran to his side, ready to defend the dragon too.

“Move aside.” The head-knight barked.

“No.”

Rayla’s heart softened as she watched him stand up to the knights – far outnumbered, in defence of this creature he should hate. The knight did not care about this act of valour, as he shoved Callum to the ground. Before she had time to react, another knight grabbed Rayla’s arms, pulling them painfully behind her back, then kicked the back of her legs, forcing her to her knees.

A third knight, a woman with long dark hair, plunged her spear into the dragons’ heart. Rayla felt a scream tear from her throat but heard nothing above the thundering in her ears. She thrust her arms away from the knight that held them and turned towards him.

The shock of her escape lasted little time as the knight thrust his spear towards her. She dodged it easily, using the opportunity to grab the knife from her belt. He watched her hands carefully as the knife twirled and danced between them. She sensed a figure running toward them and smirked as she redoubled her efforts to keep the knight distracted as Callum tackled him to the ground, landing a blow to his jaw.

Another knight came from her left, but he too was too slow for Rayla as she jumped high, kicking him in the chest. He fell heavily, the helmet - still attached to his head - hit a rock and the sound reverberated, making his eyes dance dazedly. 

Callum, meanwhile, still struggled with his foe, who rolled them over, pinning Callum to the ground. “Why are you protecting that filthy _elf_.” He spat as Callum struggled against him. The knight struck him with the back of his hand, and he went still.

Rayla rushed towards them, knife at the ready but one of the remaining knights held her back.

“Leave. Take your human and leave and we won’t have any more trouble.”

She glanced nervously at Callum, laying still, as the knight begrudgingly climbed off him and stepped away. He had a cut on his lip, a result of the blow from Callum – one sole comfort in this exchange.

The knights walked away, talking amongst themselves about when they would come back to retrieve the body, leaving her, Callum and the dead dragon alone.

Rayla fell beside him, clutching his face.

“Callum?” The name still felt foreign on her tongue. She bit her lip, waiting for a response.

He scrunched his face, raising a hand to the head wound from the previous day. His eyes opened slowly, meeting hers sadly. “I’m sorry that you keep on having to rescue me.”

“It’s okay, dummy. So long as you’re okay.” She smiled reassuringly, but he didn’t return it, anguish lining his features.

“Yeah.” He sat up, his focus immediately fixing on the dragon. “I wish we could have saved him.” She took his hand, her eyes brimmed with tears. She noted the cuts on his knuckles from the fight, brushing them lightly with her thumb.

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't overly happy with this chapter, mostly because I just don't enjoy writing fight scenes - I'm more of an angst and fluff gall (to which there will be plenty of upcoming).  
> You're all lovely wonderful people and thank you so much for reading and leaving feedback 
> 
> Angsty chapter next, but soon enough I'll be ramping up the fluff


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the day and night passed without incident. Little communication passed between them as Callum replayed the death of the dragon in his mind – identifying what he could have done differently, if he were faster, stronger, not himself. Those thoughts did nothing now, only gave him a tight pain in his chest, but there was nothing he could do to prevent the swirling of those thoughts.

Rayla was equally quiet, her eyes vacant, her body seemingly on autopilot. The following morning, she was already sat in the cart as he stepped out of the inn to meet her. The underneath of her eyes was bruised blue with lack of sleep, Callum noted, as she prompted the horses on.

A few days passed, the pain of the loss of the dragons’ life lessened only slightly. They slowly got back into the swing of conversation – their lives growing up, their families, their homes. Callum was, of course, careful to spare many of the specifics, giving a much humbler version of his life in the castle.

Rayla seemed to be holding back too – the trust just wasn’t there yet. He wasn’t surprised, elves probably had a sense for when someone was lying – he was only too glad that she didn’t push him into revealing more. The longer he could disguise his real life, the better.

Callum had to admit, there was something exciting about it all. He could never be too certain whether anyone treated him as they normally would. People were either overly polite or ignored him. When he caught the eye of flirting women, he couldn’t be sure if they were interested in him or his title. When he joked with the guards and they laughed, was he funny, or did they fear his influence over the King?

Being a Prince had its advantages. He could do as he pleased outside of his royal schedule – which mostly involved hiding away is some quiet corner to draw or read.

On the other hand, his life was lonely. People would think ill of him if he sauntered down to the tavern. His only other prospects for meeting people were people employed by the Royal family – which made for strained friendships in his experience.

They were content with continuing to share the tent for a few days. Callum was careful to keep a respectable distance, but he feared that he made advances in his sleep. Ezran maintained that Callum was a fidgety sleeper. She was always gone before he woke up though and she didn’t ever mention any discomfort with their sleeping situation. Still, he hoped he wasn’t denying Rayla her rest.

Tonight, they found themselves at an inn, so they’d be back to the old routine. He glanced nervously up at the clouds, anticipating the rain to come and huddled further into his cloak as the wind swept by. Winter was certainly coming.

The inn was lively – a few lutes played along with a flute and the drunken singing and fist banging of a couple of the patrons. Tables and chairs were pushed towards the walls, leaving a space in the middle of the room where some of the more lucid guests laughed and danced.

Callum and Rayla approached the bar, shrugging off their cloaks in response to the heat of the room.

“What’ll it be?” Asked the barman waiting on the other side.

Callum hesitated, steeling himself for what he was about to do. “A twin room, please.”

Rayla scrunched her nose. “Twin? Are you meeting someone here?” She looked around as if trying to work out who would be here to meet him.

“Rayla… the other bed is for you.”

She turned back to him in surprise and rested her hand on his. “Callum, no. You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s freezing out there and I think it’s going to rain, and you deserve this, Rayla. You sleep 365 nights in that tent, let me give you one in a real bed.”

Blinking, she smiled slightly, and Callum felt a warm flutter in his stomach. He mourned the loss of her hand from his as her expression became more serious and she replied in a defensive tone. “It’s not 365 nights… sometimes I’ll sleep in my own bed at home for a night or two between jobs; but okay, I see your point.” She turned to the barman, who had just slid the key over to Callum. “Your finest ale, please.”

“And for me,” Callum smiled.

The barman grunted a nod, before turning to retrieve their drinks.

“So,” Rayla said, turning to the room and leaning against the bar. “Is this some sort of human holiday I’m forgetting about.”

Callum paused, checking the calendar in his mind, counting the days on his fingers. “Nope, just a regular Friday night.”

The patrons cheered and clapped as one song ended and after a few moments of talking amongst themselves, the band started up a new song. Callum smiled, he knew it well, but hadn’t heard it in a long time.

It was a lively up-beat song that had a dance routine that went with it. It was one of the first dances Callum had learned as a prince. It wasn’t long after his mother had married Harrow. Sarai had helped him learn it and she was his first dance partner at his first ball, before she twirled him into the arms of another child. A lot had changed since that first ball, he had to find his own dance partners now for one thing.

The customers of the bar quickly selected their partners and started through the steps; some were quite clumsy in their drunken state, but it was all in good fun. Glancing over at Rayla, he noted her drumming her fingers to the beat on the bar and her feet shifted. _Oh?_ It appeared she had a bit of dancing spirit within her.

“You want to…” He nodded in the direction of the dancers, not having the courage to ask her outright.

She let out a long sigh. “Why not… looks fun.”

Letting out a relieved breath, Callum grabbed her hand and pulled her to the centre of the room. They kept a modest foot apart but as he turned to her, he interlaced his fingers with hers and his left hand slid down to her waist. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and did his best to avoid looking at her for too long – each meeting of their eyes felt intimate, as if he were baring his whole self to her. He elected to focus on their feet.

“Okay. It’s pretty simple, just follow my lead.”

They took a few steps forward, a few steps back, spun around once, twice and then stomped their feet, before following the same steps again. It really was a simple dance, reserved mostly for children – but drunk adults weren’t too different to children, Callum noted sniggering at the other dancers in the room.

The difficult part comes in gradually as the tempo picks up and it gets faster and faster. Callum relished the sound of Rayla’s breathy laugh as she picked up what was happening and struggled to keep up.

Callum too was finding it harder than he remembered, despite not having touched his ale at all – he still, however, managed to maintain as much composure as he could – something his Prince training had taught him. He held her closer after each spin until there was barely space between them, their bodies pressed together, breaths mingling, tripping over each other’s feet.

Callum thrilled in seeing her so relaxed, so happy. His smile was wide as he watched her, not caring now about the stutters of his heart when their eyes met or the shock of electricity when skin touched skin.

The pace became too much for Rayla, inevitably, as she fell into him after a particularly rapid twist. Callum caught her easily, chuckling into her hair. She did a lot better than most; they were one of only a couple dancers left standing.

The music got louder and louder and the laughter of the other guests nearly drowned it out, until it got to the big finale ending with loud stomping and cheering. Callum and Rayla paid them no mind as they tried to recover.

Her arms were now wrapped around his neck, laughing between pants into the crook of his neck. Both of his arms were secured around her waist, fearing he would collapse from exhaustion if he were to let go.

She pulled back, meeting his eyes, smiling sweetly. He could feel her heartbeat echoing his as their chests pressed together. He tucked some strands of her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on the soft skin below her jaw. She looked at him expectantly, waiting, wanting.

“Disgusting.” A gruff voice from the side-lines of the dance circle called.

They pulled apart, broken from the spell that had frozen them in place, to turn to the speaker. They were greeted will all eyes of the inn on them, disapproving eyes. Some shook their heads, others tutted.

“What?” Callum asked.

“An elf and a human,” the original speaker continued “shouldn’t be together like that. It’s not natural.”

“We’re not _together_.” Rayla snapped. “We’re just friends.”

“I hope for your sake that’s true. Peace between our kinds is one thing, but to taint a human line like that?” He shook his head grimly for emphasis. “I can only imagine the monstrosity of a child that would come out if you two…” he left the sentence to hang in the room, letting everyone conjure up the image in their minds themselves.

“Hey, how dare y—" Callum stepped forward, not knowing for certain what he was planning on doing, but wanted to take action, nonetheless.

“Callum, it’s fine. Just leave it.” Without another word, she crossed the room, grabbing the key to the room from the bar and left. The others flinched as she got closer to them, allowing her plenty of space.

Murmurs passed between patrons after she left but Callum was still left standing in the dance circle, feeling utterly useless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love me some dancing.
> 
> Sorry this was late late late - I was stuck on it for a while and then Christmas came around and work was stressful but I finally found some time to sit down and think it through.
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit swifter.
> 
> Feel free to come chat on the 'blr - https://www.tumblr.com/blog/earthblooded


	8. Chapter 8

It never took long for the illusion to take shape, but it did always surprise Rayla how long it took her to get accustomed to it. She stared into a face she hadn’t seen in months; one she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to see again.

Sighing, she turned from the mirror hanging on the wall of their twin-room, to face Callum, still sleeping. Her chest felt heavy, and she couldn’t pinpoint whether it was because she was seeing his face for the first time since… all that happened last night, or whether it was the amulet hanging around her neck. She bit her lip as she watched his steady breathing, giving a rise and fall to the sketchbook that lay face-down on his stomach.

He had come in not long after she had, but she pretended to sleep when he did. She could hear him tossing and turning for a while, before he sighed dramatically and sat up to draw – the soft scratches of graphite on paper eventually lulled her to sleep.

Her fingers itched to turn over his book, to see what he had been drawing, but she resisted, walking over to her own bed to pack up her things with her back to him. They were making good time so far on their journey, if all went to plan, they would be in Xadia in just a couple of days. They would part ways, him to his tournament, she to her life of moving, moving, moving.

She glanced out the window – it was still dark, but the horizon started to look a lighter grey than when she had first awoken.

“Morning,” Callum yawned from behind her. She turned to greet him but stopped when his eyes widened, and he sprang up to a sitting position. “Rayla? What happened?” He rose a hand to his head, to where a horn would be if he were an elf, to where hers should be, but now weren’t.

“It’s just an illusion,” she answered, indicating to the amulet around her neck before tucking it into her shirt. The amulet was given to her by a Moon Mage many years prior, when Rayla had first started to cross into the human kingdoms to transport goods. It did a good job of keeping her out of trouble and building a good rapport with humans. Her fake human accent was now much better than when she first started to disguise herself, she recalled, cringing at the confused looks she used to get when she spoke.

Looking back at him, she found his head cocked, his eyebrows drawn in concern.

“This is only until we get to Xadia,” she explained “to avoid any more trouble.”

“You shouldn’t need to do that! That guy was just a drunken jerk.”

“Jerk or not, it’s safer this way. Get packed up, we should go.” Rayla shouldered her bag and headed for the door to give hum privacy, but paused just before vacating the room “Oh, umm, thank you… for paying for the room. It was nice sleeping in a real bed.”

“Any time.” He smiled, as he got up, stretching his arms above his head.

She fiddled with her now-rounded ears. “The next inn is a bit out of the way, so I was thinking, if you’re comfortable with it, we could share the tent again?” She didn’t give him a chance to speak, barrelling on to explain her reasoning. “It would just save us some time.”

“Of course.” His features softened as he regarded her, and she tried to keep her voice even.

“Great. I’ll meet you outside.”

* * *

They stopped when the sun started to set, casting an orange glow over the mist of the forest. They made quick work of the tent and gathering firewood in the dwindling light they had left and soon enough they were lounging in the centre of the clearing that would be their home for the night. The rain had held off that day, luckily, so they found plenty of dry wood and the ground they lay on was only slightly damp.

Rayla unsheathed her knife from her belt, holding it firmly in one hand while the other held an angular, jagged rock. Callum watched her hands curiously, peering over the pyramid of sticks they had built, as she attempted to get the fire lit.

“Is it weird? Having those extra fingers and toes now?” He asked.

She gasped in triumph as a spark finally stuck and she gently leaned down to blow gently – adding more flames to the spark. Leaning back, she glanced at the impression of human hands that the amulet gave her.

“It’s an adjustment, they don’t really _feel_ like they’re my hands, if that makes sense. So, I’ll never feel completely comfortable looking like this.” Her gaze flicked back to him and she found him frowning sadly at her. “Uhh… no offence – it’s nothing against humans.”

He blinked and shook his head. “No, no. I get it. I just feel sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“For you, that you need to hide and…” he paused, looking away from her and she saw his cheeks turn pink – an effect of the warming fire she supposed - “and I feel sorry for the people you’re hiding from. They don’t get to see the real you”

She scoffed, the insecurities she’d faced her whole life coming to light. “The real me? I doubt they’d be missing out.”

His voice became soft then, so soft she was surprised she heard it over the crackle of the fire and her heart thumping in her ears.

“The real you.” He said again, a small smile on his lips, still looking away. “Strong, funny, pretty.”

His eyes finally met hers and the intensity of his wondrous gaze felt blinding, but she couldn’t tear hers away, wanting nothing more than to live praising limelight forever. _Oh gods_ she needed to say something. She wasn’t good with mushy stuff; she’d never been on the receiving end of it. Playful, dry wit was her only weapon against flirting. It would have to do.

“Oh? So, what you’re saying is is that I’m not pretty as a human?”

He floundered, and gods, he was adorable as he did so, running a hand through his thick hair. Maybe flirting back wasn’t the best idea, her thoughts were now consumed with how his hair would feel between her fingers, her real elven fingers.

“Not at all!” Callum gasped out when he finally found his words. “You’re beautiful, pointed ears and horns or not. I’m just trying to say,” he breathed deeply, exasperated, but returned to speaking with the same softness. “I wouldn’t change the real you for the world.”

_Okay. Good recovery_. Rayla thought, blinking. What was she supposed to say to that? She swallowed, her brain stuttering back to a start. Flirting back was out, avoidance was her new best friend.

“Speaking of hands,” she said, raising hers to his line of vision, anything to get his eyes away from her crimson face, “these ones should go and pick some food if we want to eat tomorrow.” Rayla went to stand but he stood before she had a chance to.

“Nuh uh, you have done that every day for us. I go this time.”

“Callum,” she sighed, relieved that all flirtation was over. “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“Please. Allow me.” He bowed dramatically, and Rayla couldn’t help but roll her eyes but smiled gratefully in thanks as he backed away. “Any requests while I’m out? Oranges? A chocolate cake? Poisonous berries perhaps?”

“If you come back with poisonous berries, I’ll throttle you! I have extra fingers for it now too.” He laughed as he slipped among the trees. She winced as the dreadful thought of him getting hurt and her threat being her last words popped into her mind. “Be careful!” She called after him, hoping he was still in earshot, as if her well-wish would make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Her ears were tuned into any sounds of distress, and her eyes trained on the shadows that Callum had disappeared into, but after a few minutes she relaxed, reassured that he wouldn’t run into any trouble, probably.

Her eyes fell onto the sketchbook, leaning against a rock merely a foot away and for the second time that day, her fingers stretched for it. Unlike that morning, however, she gave into temptation, into that small voice of curiosity inside her that begged her to find out more about him.

The book fell open to what must have been his most recent drawing, something that she hadn’t dared let herself think about since it had occurred. _When did he have time to draw this_ she mused, feeling the rising heat in her cheeks warding her from the chill of the night.

It depicted their shared dance from the previous night, the moment of pure freeing bliss, before she came crashing down to earth after the comments of that _fool_. Rayla in the illustration had her eyes closed, likely in concentration if memory served, but the smile she wore was wide. It was contagious as Rayla looked at it now, mirroring the smile. She couldn’t remember the last time she was _so_ happy. She was determined to not let that bigoted man overshadow the whole night – this _would_ be a fond memory… after some time healed recently-opened wounds.

The only depiction of Callum in the picture were his hands, holding hers. It was like looking at a snapshot of his point of view during that moment. She ran her fingers over their joined hands, absentmindedly, wishing she could turn the page over and confirm his joy reflecting hers in his own face.

She flicked through the pages of the book – he wasn’t one for self-portraits it seemed, as she noted landscapes, market vendors, castles, _castles, another castle… why are there so many pictures of castles?_

Her fingers froze as her eyes landed on a portrait of two people, and a… toad? The older man had long thick hair and wore smart clothing, the crown on his head was prominent – giving Rayla a pang of dread as she recalled the stories of Kings she had heard. But he looked kind, his eyes were crinkled into a smile as he laughed with the other person. This was a young man, mid-teens if Rayla were to guess. His hair was much wilder, and his clothing more skewed although there was no doubting that this person, too, came from wealth.

She noted the banner in the background, the seal of two uneven castle towers, confirming her suspicion of who exactly she was looking at.

The King and the Prince of Katolis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you all for your lovely comments and kudos-es-es


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a guest comment put it following the last chapter... the dragon's really out of the bag now

He walked around with a goofy grin on his face, barely paying any attention to what he was picking. Rayla always managed to find a good haul of food but what he was finding could barely be classed as a portion. It didn’t help that it was pitch black and he stumbled and trod over roots and rocks. Did elves have better eyesight? Or night vision? This is something he’d have to ask Rayla.

_Rayla_. He tripped and caught himself again as his mind forewent the task at hand and flew back to her, the words he’d said still rang in his ear.

Callum _should_ be embarrassed – whenever he’d made similar slip ups with Claudia, he’d been mortified, stuck in his mind for days as he painfully re-lived the memory and hid his face in shame in his pillow. With Rayla, it felt normal; it felt _right_. Now, as he blindly walked among trees, he replayed the memory not for self-torture, but for pure indulgence of remembering her eyes sparkling in the fire-light, and her mouth curving into a smirk as she gave her rebuttal. 

It was nice to have someone he could be himself around, no pressure to impress or be professional. He had Ez, sure, but he’d never really had a friend like this. A friend that was truly made, instead of a duty-bound friendship, be it family or political.

Soren and Claudia were the closest thing he’d ever had; but Soren teased him mercilessly and Callum barely strung together two sentences around Claudia so neither felt genuine. He couldn’t imagine just sitting and drinking a round of ale with them talking about their woes at the end of a long week, but with Rayla? That image was bright and clear in his mind. He would slip away from the castle in the cover of darkness, she would be returning from a trip of delivering goods and they would meet in an inn and just drink and laugh and catch up.

He stopped, the smile dropping from his lips as a new thought gripped him. Would they even see each other again after all this? Would they cross the border into Xadia and then… that’s it? Goodbye forever?

No. If she was happy and willing to pursue a friendship, he would ensure that this wouldn’t be it; he would make the effort to keep this.

When his skin started to prickle with the loss of warmth, he decided to cut his losses and circle back to their camp. He’d offer up his half of the food to her _; this insufficiently small pile of mushy, undergrown berries_ , he thought, frowning into his palm. Maybe they could swing by a market stall and he’d buy something more substantial for them.

By sheer luck, he was able to find their camp with relative ease – seeing the warm glow shining between the trees dozens of feet away.

“Okay, so I couldn’t find much, but…” The moment he emerged from the trees, Rayla shot to her feet, holding her dagger out in front of her. Was that for him? He glanced over his shoulder to see if he’d been followed, but it was just the two of them. Callum raised a hand in defence, the other still clutching the berries. “Rayla?”

“That’s far enough.” Her voice was cold, no familiarity in it at all, as if she didn’t know him and he were invading the camp.

“What’s going on?”

“No more lies. You tell me who you are, now.”

He stammered, his confused mind short-circuiting as he tried to give an answer. “I’m nobody!”

She barked a laugh, but her face was twisted into a grimace. Keeping the knife pointing at him, with her other hand she flung a book to him. It expertly landed in front of him, falling open to a picture of Harrow, Ezran and Bait, the picture he had drawn a few months ago. His stomach dropped. “Not just anybody would have _that_ among their portfolio,” she said, indicating to the open page. “Who are you, Callum? Or was that a fake name too?”

“No, Rayla. I…” What could he say? What possible excuse is left? He dropped his hands in defeat; he was tired of the lies anyway. “It’s not my full title.” He sighed; _well I guess I have no choice now_. “I’m Prince Callum, of Katolis.”

“N- No,” She shook her head in disbelief. “No. There’s one prince of Katolis. Ezran.”

Callum was well-accustomed to this response. “It’s an easy mistake to make. I’m not the real son of the King, he’s just my stepdad. Ezran is the crown prince so he’s the one everyone focuses on and I’m just kind of forgotten by anyone outside the castle walls; but I am still technically a prince.”

She lowered her dagger slightly, but still kept it pointed at him. Her face was twisted in anguish as realisation befell her. “I can’t believe I’ve been travelling with a _prince_ this whole time.”

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Everyone made assumptions about him based on his title – spoilt, uncaring, undeserving – but Rayla having a low opinion of him hurt the most. “What’s your problem with royalty anyway? I didn’t choose this! I was a child when my mom married the King.”

“I don’t trust the Kings and Queens of the Pentarchy, or anyone affiliated with them. For centuries they stole from our lands and killed our people; the peace treaty is probably nothing more than convenience for them to get our resources. I’ll remain cautious and distrusting of them until they give me a reason not to.”

Okay. That was fair, the history of the Pentarchy was ugly, especially from those in power – sacrificing their people in wars, taking what wasn’t theirs, hating anyone who was different. Things were getting better now, but the wounds of the long-fought war between Humans and Elves was far from being completely healed. Maybe Rayla had no reason to trust those in power but… “You trust me, right?”

She watched him thoughtfully. “I don’t know yet. Anything else I need to know?”

Callum took a deep breath, steeling himself for the next revelation. “I’m not going to Xadia for the tournament.”

“Ah great. Another lie” She deadpanned. 

Callum licked his lips, delaying his explanation while he decided how much she needed to know. Even if she distrusted him, he knew he could trust her. Before his mind had quite caught up to his decision, he was spilling the last of his secrets. “I think Ezran’s in trouble. He left a couple of months ago, I don’t know why, all he said was that he was going to Xadia.” Tears pricked his eyes as the worry he had been downplaying this last week started to consume him. He tried to keep his voice level, but his words came out wobbly as sobs jerked at his throat. “He said he’d be back in a matter of weeks and he said he’d write to me if he faced any delay, but I haven’t heard from him since he left.”

Callum couldn’t bear to look at her anymore and opted instead to look at the campfire, biting his tongue hard to keep the tears at bay.

“Pfft, give it a rest Callum. A prince is missing, and you expect me to believe that the King would only send _you_.” He could feel her gaze on him, studying him.

“The King doesn’t know. I promised Ezran I’d cover for him. As far as anyone is concerned, Ezran is at our Winter Lodge, studying, taking a break from his responsibilities at the castle.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” She asked, her voice tinged with hurt.

“I couldn’t let anyone find out what was going on. Harrow would be furious with Ez and the peace treaty would be over if the Katolonians found out that their beloved prince was missing; they would assume that…” he couldn’t finish the words – not wanting to appear to be jumping to that conclusion for Rayla’s sake, but also not wanted to entertain the thought himself either.

“… Xadians had taken and hurt him.” Rayla finished for him. The hint of understanding that lay in her tone was slightly reassuring for Callum, but he still feared that this wouldn’t be enough for her to forgive his deceit. In addition to that worry, he also started to fear for Ezran once again – it had reached a fever pitch the night before he fled on this journey and he had promised himself he wouldn’t think about it until he finally stepped foot in Xadia. The anxiety was unproductive and slowed him down, he needed to think about getting there first.

While talking about it out loud for the first time was a massive weight off his conscience, it also only served to give real meaning to what was going on. Saying it meant it was true and that panic mounted inside him. _Ezran is missing. He could be hurt or dead. It might already be too late._ He shook the thought from his mind, reminding himself that this mindset was fruitless.

Lowering her swords finally with a sigh, Rayla slumped down onto the ground, staring hard into the flames of the campfire. Callum cautiously took a seat too, leaving much more room than what had separated them a mere hour ago. How quickly things can change. Agonising minutes passed in silence before he couldn’t take it any longer.

“I’m sorry for lying” He rooted around in his pocket. “Here,” he said, taking out pouch of coins, “I’ll pay you more if you’ll still take me?”

Angrily, she stood, waving off his offer “I don’t want your money!” She walked over to the cart, shoving her hand into her bag. Callum waited, biting his lip, wondering what she would pull out. More weapons? Shackles?

Coming back around to him, she shoved coins into his palm – the same ones he had given her the day they met.

“Rayla please, no. I need you.” He stated desperately. "I can’t go to Xadia alone.”

Her mouth quirked into a smile and Callum frowned in response.

“I’ll still take you, dummy. I’m not charging someone to rescue their family.”

Callum leaped up, crushing her into a hug as relief poured over him. “Thank you Rayla.” He felt her body tense and his mind caught up with what he was doing, stepping back, and rubbing the back of his head “Uhhh sorry, I got carried away.”

She shook her head and smiled to reassure him, and extended her hand to shake his. “No more lies?”

“No more lies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd written the bulk of this chapter a few weeks back when I was struggling with writers block for a different chapter, so it's a relatively short hiatus for this one - but don't be expecting them to keep coming so quickly!
> 
> Thanks once again for all the kudos and comments - I'm consistently blown away by the positive feedback and that some of y'all come back to it. I very much appreciate you all :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a lot fluffier than I was imagining... not much plot here - just fluff!

Rayla was surprised at how soon she was accustomed to the fact that she was travelling with a prince.

He wasn’t anything like what she’d expect of royalty. Not being _born_ into the title may be a factor. By his own admission, he remembered parts of his life before moving to the castle so that might have been enough to have humbled him. Even so, he was a far better man than most people she knew, elves included. How many people would travel across the continent on a potentially perilous journey to find their brother?

No; Callum was different. He was caring, and brave, and everything Rayla strived to be but wasn’t. She noticed the change in him instantly, he was more open and relaxed around her. The tightness in his back had softened and he met her eyes more often when they spoke. He was baring his whole self to her and for that Rayla was jealous. Her own deceptions weighed heavily on her.

Before Callum’s secrets were revealed, she could pretend that he was a bad person, pretend that his secrets were all the more sinister than travelling to a dragon-killing tournament. But seeing his true self changed everything. Not only did it explain the character and compassion she had witnessed over the last week, it revealed him to be a man worthy of all the help she could give.

He was surely an outlier among royalty – one of the very few good ones. This wouldn’t change her mind or general distrust. Callum is merely an exception to the rule.

She rolled over to face him, noting that he was still fast asleep. His hair was swept across his forehead, doing little to obscure his peaceful face as he snored soundlessly. He had managed to avoid cuddling up with her since that first night in the tent, which was a relief. Getting cosy with a human was one thing, but a human prince? She would forget about any bigots heckling her in a crowded inn because the King would have her head.

Trills of a nearby songbird pulled Rayla from her thoughts and reminded her that they needed to get going. Her face twisted with sympathy as she started to shake Callum awake. He murmured, batting her hand away.

“Come on sleepy prince. I can’t let you sleep in, even if you _are_ royalty.”

“Hmm… 5 more minutes.”

“No Callum, now.” She pulled the blanket off him and he reacted immediately by pulling his body into itself tighter as his hand blindly searched for the lost warmth. When his pursuit was lost, he sat up, opening his eyes blearily. After a beat, his eyes widened.

“Hey! Sorry… I er- I had a dream that I was home, so I forgot we were…” His face dropped.

“Hmm, sorry sad prince, you’re still with me.”

“No, it’s not that.” He raised his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. “Ezran was there, in my dream.” Rayla could sympathise – she knew well the feeling of waking up following a good dream. To have a feeling of relief and elation swept out from under you, to realise that you’re still in the same situation you went to bed with.

Rayla rested a hand on his. “You’ll find him.” Callum smiled appreciatively, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes – a severe sense of loss still swimming in them. She wasn’t accustomed to talking about _feelings_ , much less giving comfort to another. The sincerity was there in her heart, but she just couldn’t articulate it.

He slipped his hand out from under hers, and Rayla felt relieved that he was changing the subject, not knowing what else she could say to express her sympathy. “We should go.” He sounded defeated, as if he’d already given up on finding his brother before even getting to Xadia.

“Hey Callum, can I ask you something?” He looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time that morning. Rayla was poor in her knowledge of handling loss healthily, but she could still cheer him with a light-hearted joke. “Do I still need to call you Jofus when we’re in public?”

* * *

“Jofus, huh?” Asked the innkeeper. Rayla had _thought_ she was being funny when she had asked earlier, but as it turned out, it reminded Callum that they needed to make sure they prevented anyone from finding out who he really was – so it was back to Rayla and Jofus.

They had been travelling all day and had arrived in Easthallow just before the sun set. This village was the closest to the border. For decades it had little going for itself; humans had little reason to pass into in, some even too nervous to enter the village as it was a little _too_ close to the border for comfort.

Since the peace treaty though, the village was bustling with patrons – the economy was booming in the small once-forgotten place. It acted now as a hub between the two sides of the border, where weary travellers rested on their journeys. As such, it was a lot more progressive than many other places on the continent; humans and elves drank together in the bars, shared travel tips and worked together to fix up the town when the demand for custom rose.

It was refreshing, if not a little sad. Rayla knew full well that once an elf travelled further into the pentarchy, or if a human passed into Xadia, then that respite from prejudice was over.

Rayla was usually comfortable enough in Easthallow that she forewent her human disguise, even before the peace treaty. However, while the folks here were accepting of her elf heritage, she felt that her accompaniment of a human might still cause a scandal, so she would remain clouded in her human guise until she stepped back onto Xadian soil.

She watched the innkeeper with a bemused smile as he regarded Callum, who was fidgeting under the scrutiny of his lie.

“Yes sir.” Callum replied.

“Unusual name.”

“Yes.”

“What’s more unusual, is that another Jofus passed through here a few months ago.”

“Oh?” Callum visibly stiffened at this new revelation.

Rayla tried to hide her surprise as she spoke up for the first time. “It’s a name rising in popularity!”

The innkeeper, having apparently lost interest in the conversation entirely, slid the room-key to Callum, before turning away, muttering to himself.

* * *

When they opened the door to their room, the first thing Rayla noted was the double bed.

“Umm, Jofus?” With the door wide open, she was wary of any eavesdroppers, sticking to the fake name until they had more privacy.

“Hmm?” Callum, probably accustomed to the comfort of a large bed in the castle, hadn’t noted the problem as he sat down on the bed to remove his shoes. Rayla gestured to the bed when he finally looked up and she watched as realisation dawned on him. “Oh, sorry. I’m sure I asked for separate beds. I’ll go back now to get a different room.”

“No, it’s fine,” Rayla replied, hurriedly, shutting the door behind her. Her cheeks warmed the moment the words left her mouth, which confused her. What was there to be embarrassed about? No point in wasting everyone’s time over a small mistake, right? Yeah, that was it, an avoidance of _inconvenience_. “I mean, we shouldn’t hassle the guy. I don’t think he likes Jofus as it is. Besides,” she continued, hoping none of this sounded like a lame excuse, “the bed is pretty big, we can both get in without…” She trailed off, saying the word ‘touching’ felt too intimate in that moment.

“Yeah, I guess.” Callum shrugged, seemingly oblivious to her bashfulness. Well, good. It wasn’t like she _wanted_ to share a bed with him, and it’s good that he wasn’t getting any ideas.

Putting the whole ordeal out of her head, Rayla made quick work of her shoes and flopped down on the opposite side of the bed, reclining against the pillow. She sighed at her body sank into the feather-stuffed article. Pillows were a luxury she didn’t waste space for when she stayed in her tent, so she would be sure to embrace this.

Puffing out a breath, she addressed Callum, or rather the back of his head, as he was faced away from her. “Crazy that there’s another Jofus out there somewhere.”

“It’s Ezran.” He said, matter-of-factly.

Her eyes widened, turning onto her right side, and propping up on her elbow. “Are you sure?”

Callum turned to face her, mirroring her posture as he lay against his own pillow, an amused smile on his face. “You seriously believe there’s a person called Jofus out there?”

“You seemed to think I would believe it last week when you told me that was your name!” She batted his arm, and he laughed in response. “At least we know Ezran made it into Xadia then.” Callum nodded, but said nothing, looking away wistfully. Rayla used this opportunity to find out more about him, the _real_ him. “What’s the significance with Jofus then?”

“When we played as kids – you know, like pretending to be knights and stuff, he used to always use that name for himself. He thought it was so funny.” A small smile returned to his lips as he reminisced. “I guess the name just stuck with both of us.”

“Wow. You? A knight?” Rayla teased, laughing as Callum feigned offence.

“That’s what you got out of that conversation?” He smiled despite his mock protest and Rayla felt a small flutter in her stomach when his soft laugh reached her ears. “We were surrounded by knights every day! It’s not like we had much inspiration.”

“Clearly!” Rayla responded, still laughing as her elbow lost its footing. Callum reached out to steady her, his hand warm on her hip; she welcomed it.

“What did you want to be when you were younger?” His voice was soft as his eyes slid from where his hand gripped her to her eyes.

Much like Callum, her inspiration came from those around her. “I used to pretend to be an assassin. Climbing trees, sneaking around, jumping out at animals and-“

“Killing them?” Callum interjected before she could finish, lifting his hand away. She mourned the loss of contact for just a second before the gravity of his insinuation that she killed animals fully reached her mind.

“No! Cuddle them – a surprise cuddle attack.” She lay on her back and closed her eyes, imagining she was there now in the adoraburr meadow, having just tackled a group of the fuzzy creatures in a group hug, basking in the sun in the glory of her defeat.

“Do you think you’d be an assassin now if you weren’t transporting?” Callum’s voice pulled her from her memory.

“Maybe. My…” She paused for a moment to think of a word to best describe Runaan. “Dad was an assassin – he wanted me to follow in his footsteps but…” More memories came to her as she trailed off, of shouting, hurt looks, fleeing the Silvergrove in the cover of dark. These were painful memories that she had replayed countless times, ones she didn’t want to drag Callum into. She shook her head of that baggage, flashing Callum a playful smirk instead. “This peace treaty thing would have really screwed me out of a job though.”

“Well, I am _very_ sorry to your alternate self” His words were drenched with sarcasm and Rayla responded with a laugh and a wave of her hand, trying desperately to get the subject off of her.

“What about you, what would you be if you weren’t a prince?”

His smile dropped as he contemplated, it was his turn to lay on his back and fall into the abyss of self-pity. “I’d be nothing. Without my title… I’m no one.”

Rayla scoffed in disagreement, but when he said nothing, she scooted closer, their bodies only inches apart. She gently laid a hand on his arm. “I think you’d be an artist. People would come far and wide and commission you for portraits.” His eyes widened with excitement as he rolled over again to face her. Her hand fell away but the lack of contact was short as he began to caress her fingers.

“And you’d assassinate anyone who short-changed me.”

Rayla nodded in agreement, not trusting any words that might come out of her mouth in that moment, as all thoughts and feelings were concentrated in the hand, held by his. They were much closer now, she realised suddenly – their legs pressed against each-others’, his breath tickling her cheek, the limited space between them felt charged. Rayla usually preferred her personal space, but with Callum, she found she didn’t mind sharing.

He smiled gratefully, whether because she had cheered him up or because she admitted to being willing to kill for him, Rayla wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to think in any case; she just wanted to stay in this moment for now – shielded from the cold winter, his thumb stroking her fingers lightly, living in the fantasy of their alternate lives.

Her eyes started to feel heavy as Callum continued his soothing touch and she let them slide closed, sleepiness getting the better of her as she let her head sink into the pillow. A pained whine escaped her lips when he let go of her hand, replaced with an appreciative hum when he lay the blanket over her.

The last thing she remembered before drifting off were his fingers gently brushing her hair away from her face and the determination that she would show him the adoraburr meadow, some day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and giving feedback. You may or may not have noticed that I changed my pen name on AO3 (I'd made the previous one like a decade ago and had no idea I could change it until last week)
> 
> Love you all x


	11. Chapter 11

For the first time since they had met, Callum woke up before Rayla the following morning. He could hear her heavy, even breathing; it lulled him into a warm fuzzy feeling that threatened to send him back to sleep. The prospect of going back to sleep, snoozing just a little longer, was deliciously tempting in that moment after the early mornings they’d endured the past week. The warmth he could feel radiating from her mere inches away almost won him over, almost convinced him to delay the inevitable.

One of them needed to make sure they didn’t oversleep, however, and today he would give Rayla the chance to catch up on sleep. The score was unbalanced so far, he was determined to make up the sleep deficit he owed her.

Opening his eyes for the first time, he drank in the sight of her. Her hair ruffled, one half of her face buried into the pillow, a faint snore escaped from her parted lips. The hand he had held the previous night was still outstretched towards him and he fisted his own to stop his wandering touch. Callum was relieved that he hadn’t encroached onto her side of the bed, as Ezran often chastised him for doing so whenever they needed to share a bed on trips to other kingdoms.

His face did heat up however, as he remembered how much his hand had wandered the night before. It was nothing scandalous, sure, just barely a handhold, but it felt profound in a way Callum had never experienced before. He could still feel the shocks of electricity that his fingertips sparked when their skin touched; could still see the heated look in her eyes when the space between them ceased to exist.

He shook his head of the memory. It was nothing. They had just become caught up in the fantasy of different lives – that was all. Even if there _was_ something between them, it didn’t matter. They would be parting ways once they arrived in Xadia – her duty would be done, and she would move on. Callum groaned softly and covered his face with his hands. He needed to focus on finding Ezran, this is the last thing he needed to be thinking about. He needed to nip this in the bud before it was too late.

_Maybe it already was_.

With a resigned sigh, Callum finally dragged himself away, cringing at the cold temperature outside of the warm cocoon of their own making. Quickly pulling on his jacket and socks, he clambered over to the window, pulling his arms closer into his body as he made an estimation of the time. An hour before sun-up, another hour for Rayla to rest. Callum did as he always did when passing the time, squinting at the page in the limited light, he sketched.

* * *

Callum often got lost in himself when he sketched. Hours would go by and before he knew it a masterpiece would be before him and another day of avoiding his duties would be successful. That morning was no exception – Rayla’s singsong voice cut through his mist-filled mind.

“Caaaaaallum.” When he blinked up at her, he found her already dressed, bed made and bag packed. He glanced over his shoulder to the window to find the sun was now up. _Huh… had it been an hour already?_

“Sorry.”

“’S okay. I’m getting accustomed to you getting all distracted by your art.” She approached and looked over his shoulder to the page he had been working on. “Oh.” She said in a small voice, her cheeks turning pink after viewing his piece.

Callum felt heat rising in his own as he remembered that he was drawing her, sleeping as she had been moments ago. “Sorry, I can stop drawing you if it makes you uncomfortable.

“No, it’s fine. I’m just not used to being a _muse_ ” she teased, letting her fingers trace the page. “It really is amazing, your talent.” Her fingers froze and she frowned. “You drew the horns.” Her other hand ran through her hair, currently lacking in horns.

He _had_ drawn them, along with her face markings and pointed ears. As far as Callum was concerned, _this_ was her. No enchantment would change that in his eyes. He licked his lips. “Yeah, it just doesn’t do you justice without them. They’re a part of you.”

Her fingers wrapped around the amulet around her neck, her eyes brimming with tears. “Thank you. This stupid thing will come off soon enough.”

He caught her hand, gripping it reassuringly. “Soon, you’ll never need to hide again. I promise. This prejudice – this hate – will die out and there _will_ be peace.”

She squeezed his hand in response.

* * *

They were mere hours from the border, according to Rayla. Just a matter of crossing the Moonstone Path – whatever that meant. Still, Callum insisted on buying them food for what was left of their time on the human side of the border, despite Rayla’s protests that there was an abundance of delicious fruit and berries to gather in Xadia.

They were walking back through the cobblestoned main street of Easthallow, stuffing baked goods into their bags, when a familiar voice rang through the street. Callum’s head swung in the direction of the voice – up ahead of them. _Was that?_

Callum sucked in a breath and ducked against a wall.

“Uhh, what are you doing?” Rayla asked, sliding up next to him.

“I know him” Callum responded, jutting his chin down the path. “His name is Kasef. Prince of Neolandia. He doesn’t like my family… or elves… or magic… or anything really.”

“Sounds nice.” Rayla said dryly. She was studying him, no doubt pinpointing his strengths and weaknesses - her assassin training kicking in. He certainly had very few weaknesses. “Would he recognise you?”

“Yeah definitely. We’ve butted head a few times, so he pretty much has it out for me.”

Rayla turned to him, her eyebrow arched. “You butted heads with _him_? That’s… brave.”

Ignoring her back-handed commendation, he recalled the most recent disagreement they'd had. “He objected to the peace treaty – stormed out of that meeting, in fact. I haven’t seen him since then." Callum thought aloud, frowning. "It’s weird he’s here… so close to the border.”

Kasef was speaking to a knight. Both were wearing armour in the Neolandia colours of black and gold. The knight held a silver shield with the silhouette of an elephant’s head – a symbol of their kingdom. Callum noted the swords at their belts and swallowed. It isn’t like he would attack them unprovoked, but if he was given a reason to, he wouldn’t hold back either.

Callum grabbed her hand “Come on, he’s distracted, let’s go ar- shit”

Kasef turned and started to walk in their direction, still talking with the knight. Rayla swiftly turned, pulled Callum’s cloak hood up and pushed his back against the wall.

“Wh-“ his question died as Rayla pushed her lips to his, her hands on his face, in an attempt to disguise him. Callum stiffened, panicking because he didn’t know what he should do with his hands. She stepped closer, hiding him better from prying eyes, granting Callum the encouragement he needed to finally respond, kissing her back.

His arms encircled her waist and deepened the kiss. Her whole body was now pressed against his and he let out a moan involuntarily. His heart hammered in his chest when she responded to his excitement as her tongue brushed across his bottom lip. He ran his hands up her back and through her hair.

An intense heat rose up within him as their lips continued to slide against each other. His senses devoured her – the silky-smooth hair between his fingers, the familiar scent of pine, the taste of her on his lips. Everything else melted away and all that mattered in that moment was _Rayla_.

She pulled away, taking her warmth with her. Her eyes were all-consuming, and she kept her voice low “Is he gone?”

Callum blinked. He had completely forgotten about Kasef. He hugged her close to keep their cover, his lips ghosting the skin of her neck. He felt her shiver – _reacting to the cold… probably_. He looked over her shoulder and saw Kasef and the knight round a corner.

“Yeah, he’s gone” Callum breathed a sigh of relief and pulled back.

A small smile touched Rayla’s lips, her features softening as she relaxed, as her eyes fell to his. She stepped back suddenly, as if she’d been burned.

“Sorry for...” she trailed off looking everywhere other than at him, “I panicked.” She bit her already-swollen lip and Callum had to refrain from pulling her in again.

He cleared his throat, begging his voice to stay even as he pushed away from the wall. “No problem. Let’s just forget about it.”

As if he’d ever forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Rayllum Valentine's Week y'all! I was considering participating but I have a lot on my plate right now so maybe next time! I've had great fun reading some of the other fics out there that participated so go go go read them!
> 
> You are all lovely wonderful people and I love you all - thank you for reading x
> 
> Catch me on tumblr if y'all ever want to chat, same username

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update roughly every week or so but I'm entering a busy stage of my life (lame) in the next week or so so I'll have to see how it goes...
> 
> I have a TDP tumblr: earthblooded - if y'all are interested.


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